Journal Article

Describing Bilinguals Through a Conceptual Bridge: Integrating Second Language Acquisition Into Bilingualism Research

Kartsevski, Mackarena

2026

Overview

Over the last decade, research on bilingualism has placed increasing importance on the accurate and detailed description of bilingual experiences. This shift has arisen as bilingualism is now understood as a continuum rather than a dichotomous condition, emphasizing the dynamic experiences that shape the bilingual mind. While the field has made substantial progress in describing linguistic and contextual variables, it still lacks a coherent framework to capture the full range of individual differences. This paper adopts a conceptual synthesis approach (Jaakkola, 2020) to build a bridge between Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)—two related, but traditionally separate fields, that share a common object of study: individuals who learn and use more than one language. Drawing on SLA’s established frameworks for conceptualizing and measuring individual differences—such as proficiency, motivation, aptitude, and personality—this synthesis explores how these constructs can enrich the ecological and experience-based understanding of bilingualism. Furthermore, this work situates this integration within the broader framework of the Science of Learning, a transdisciplinary field that connects cognitive science, linguistics, psychology, and education to explain learning as an adaptive, context-sensitive process. By aligning SLA, bilingualism, and the Science of Learning, the paper advances a view of language learning as a lifelong, dynamic phenomenon that reflects how humans learn, adapt, and transform through experience.